Gian Giacomo Medici was an Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 condottiero, Duke of Marignano

Melegnano

Melegnano is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Milan, region of Lombardy. The town lies 16 km southeast of the city of Milan...

 and Marquess of Musso and Lecco

Lecco

Lecco is a town of c. 47,760 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como...

 in Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

.

Biography

Gian Giacomo Medici was the brother of Giovanni Angelo Medici, who was later to be elected Pope as Pius IV

Pope Pius IV

Pope Pius IV , born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the culmination of the Council of Trent.-Biography:...

. They were scions of an impoverished though patrician family of Milan not connected with the Medici

Medici

The House of Medici or Famiglia de' Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici in the Republic of Florence during the late 14th century. The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside,...

 of Florence, in spite of the Medici heraldic palle appearing in the contemporary engraving (illustration): thus Gian Giacomo's nickname Il Medeghino, the "little medico".

Gian Giacomo, the eldest of fourteen children, was banished from Milan after a daring murder of revenge in broad daylight. He fled to Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of 146 km², making it the third largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore...

 where he gathered about him a band of brigands answerable to none but him. He threw in his lot as bodyguard to the future Duke of Milan, Francesco II Sforza

Francesco II Sforza

Francesco II Sforza , also known as Francesco Maria Sforza, was the last Duke of Milan from 1521 until his death.He was the son of Ludovico Sforza and Beatrice d'Este...

, reinstated in Milan by Emperor Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. The Medeghino gained a reputation for unscrupulous violence in the Sforza pay; in partial recompense, he was made Marquis of Marignano on 28 March 1528 (by Imperial patent and confirmed by Francesco Sforza II, Duke of Milan), and also Marquis of Musso

Musso (CO)

Musso is a small town in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy. It lies on the western shore of the northern branch of Lake Como about northeast of the city of Como...

 and Lecco

Lecco

Lecco is a town of c. 47,760 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como...

.

In this connection it is often mentioned that he fled to Lake Como, making it his retreat. This however was not a coincidence, as he was born in Valsolda which is a part of the community of Porlezza

Porlezza

Porlezza is a comune on Lake Lugano in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km north of Milan and about 25 km north of Como...

. Still today, evidence can be found that Marquis Giacomo di Medici was born in Valsolda and even had a residence in the community of Porlezza. In the main church of Cima, which belongs to the community of Porlezza, an inconspicuous relief can be found which can be seen underneath.

The relief shows the lion of San Marco which is a symbol of the alliance between Gian Giacomo de Medici and the former Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. It was put there in honor of his achievements, regarding the unity of Italy. Despite his revolting past he turned into a loyal supporter of the royal family. A description of the relief can be found on a plate next to it:

Interestingly, when asking the pastor of the local main church in Cima, Gian Giacomo even had a residence in Cima, right on the same spot where now a hotel stands which probably was not called by chance Parco San Marco.

Il Medeghino became a famous condottiere, or soldier of fortune, who fought in the pay of Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg

Battle of Mühlberg

The Battle of Mühlberg was a large battle at Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of...

 and elsewhere in Italy (the "War of Siena"), in the Wars of Religion

French Wars of Religion

The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...

 in France and in the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

. The great engineer Agostino Ramelli

Agostino Ramelli

Agostino Ramelli was an engineer who designed the "book wheel" or "reading wheel".During the Siege of La Rochelle , Agostino successfully engineered a mine under a bastion and breached the fortification, making him popular with his commander, Henri d'Anjou, who later became Henri III of France.In...

 trained with Gian Giacomo, who instructed him in mathematics and architecture.

In 1543 he purchased the ancient fortified castle of Frascarolo in the Valceresio, which he converted into a sumptuous villa, and in the summer of 1545 he married Marzia Orsini, daughter of Ludovico Orsini, conte di Pitigliano. He was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece

Order of the Golden Fleece

The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...

 in 1555, also the year of his death. Il Medeghino is buried in the Duomo of Milan

Duomo di Milano

Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente , it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola....

.

Since his only son, Camillo (died after 1586), was illegitimate, though made a Knight of the Order of Malta

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

, Gian Giacomo's honors passed to his brother Agosto (1501 – 1570).

External links

• Medici di Marignano: genealogical notes